Thai IP Department Boosts SME IP Value Through Three Initiatives
Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property unveiled a three‑pronged plan to boost IP value for small and medium enterprises. The initiative focuses on faster service, stronger protection, and commercialization of IP, aligning with national economic goals and anti‑corruption principles. Officials say the measures will streamline registration, strengthen legal safeguards, and help SMEs leverage their intellectual assets for growth.
The Department of Intellectual Property is accelerating three areas to raise the value of intellectual property for Thai SMEs. Deputy Director-General Jittima Sritaphon disclosed after a Town Hall meeting to brief executives and staff on October 19, 2026, that the move aligns with the policies of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Supanij Sutthaphun, who aims to strengthen Thailand's economy to meet global challenges and seize new opportunities by leveraging Thai capabilities to add value and enhance competitiveness. It also follows the new‑direction guidelines of Commerce Ministry Permanent Secretary Poonphong Naiyanapakorn, which emphasize balancing people, work, and organization to grow and serve the public and business sectors in all dimensions. Accordingly, the department has set an aggressive direction under the concept “DIP One: One Vision, One Team, Real Impact,” focusing on teamwork across all levels, linking each unit’s mission, setting shared goals, welcoming new ideas, developing skills, adapting to change, and upholding zero corruption through honest, transparent, and accountable work while safeguarding employee wellbeing to truly develop work and deliver quality services to the public.
She said the department’s work will focus on three key dimensions. First, Faster Service: streamline IP services to be convenient, swift, and accessible by reviewing and improving procedures, removing unnecessary steps, and applying digital technology to boost efficiency, including expediting registration via the Fast Track channel so applicants receive protection in time for their business operations, integrating knowledge and sharing best practices among agencies nationally and internationally, developing network‑partner personnel through train‑the‑trainer programs to impart deep IP knowledge and support IP work at subunit level, upgrading IP search systems for easy, fast, and accurate information retrieval, and enhancing the IP ONE service center to provide precise, comprehensive online‑and‑offline consultation and advice to the public.
Second, Stronger Protection: strengthen rights protection by improving IP registration efficiency and raising protection standards to align with international norms, pushing amendments to four key laws—the Patent Act, Copyright Act, Geographical Indications Act, and the law governing copyright collection organizations—to advance through the legislative process, and enhancing cooperation with public‑ and private‑sector partners to prevent and resolve IP infringement keeping pace with modern trade, including urging online platforms to employ AI technology to boost enforcement against online infringement, and promoting the protection of Thai geographical indication products from registration through quality control to community branding, thereby ensuring effective rights protection that builds confidence among rights holders, entrepreneurs, and consumers and supports fair trade.
Third, IP Commercialization: promote commercial value by encouraging entrepreneurs, especially SMEs, to recognize the importance of intellectual property as a business asset, facilitating valuation, licensing, and technology transfer, and supporting the creation of IP‑based products and services that can compete in domestic and international markets.
